That Bruce Jenner Interview

Bruce Jenner took what has been paparazzi fodder and ridicule for months, and made it real and human, in his interview with Diane Sawyer tonight.

I tuned in because this was a story we had not been privy too. While a part of the Kardashian reality debacle for 8 years, Bruce was always a supporting act, and never the star. And yet, as he said, he was the one with the story - the real story; a story that meant something to some people - to those people who try to navigate life with a lot of questions about themselves.

Gender confusion is still something many people grapple with. I grapple with it - not me not understanding whether I am man or woman. I am a woman and I am clear on that. But I never fully understood how others could not really share that sense of comprehension about themselves. There are a lot of things in this world that I do not necessarily agree with or fully understand. But what I do understand and appreciate is the ongoing quest to be happy. Happiness can sometimes seem so far out of reach - you seem to have to stretch just a little bit further to reach that fruit that is just, just out of reach. Living a life where it seems true happiness evades you is not really a life. Contemplating suicide, as he confesses he did, because you are in constant fear of what society will say or do, is not life. So when a guy feels he is happier living the rest of his life as a woman, after 65 years of living what he feels has been a pretence, then I am okay with that. Living half of a life is painful. It is empty. It is callous for us to ask anyone to do that. In the end, all any of us want is to be happy and for our loved ones to be happy - or at least that is what we should want.

I think Diane and Bruce handled the interview beautifully and brought it back really to the human condition, and made it less of a spectacle than has been made of it in the past several months. That people are harmed by others, or harm themselves because of their choice is very sad to me. The images were disturbing but hopefully there is just a little bit more understanding. Glad to see his children have been so supportive as it is clear they were his central concern. I don't agree they all had to be on-camera to prove their love for him. They are dealing with their own issues and fears I am sure. And also, I think the Kardashian girls recognised this was not their moment, but his (or at least I hope they were really being this generous). I appreciated that they were not there to bring it back to that circus level, but he could tell his story in his way, on his time, by himself.

I thought he was very brave and honest. I respect that it is a very private journey and so we did not need to see him as "her". I respect the way in which the 2-hr interview was conducted with it not being a tabloid-esque expose but a deep and meaningful, often touching, sometimes funny perspective from someone trying to come to terms with himself, and the challenges others like him face. I always felt a bit sorry for him on that silly reality show but he is a very brave guy and I give him a lot of respect for that.

I wish him the best.

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Life is so Beautiful - Talking Health, Cancer, Dreams and Diem Brown

No matter what it is, you're going to have the bad days, but if you have hope throughout, you won, no matter what the results...Life is so beautiful. - Diem Brown

Diem Brown

Back in the day when people still watched MTV, shows like The Real World, Road Rules and the various RW/RR Challenges were popular and made seemingly spoiled kids household names.

Back in the day I used to watch these shows and do remember Diem Brown most of all because of her battle with cancer. Even when I stopped watching the shows, I kept up with Diem. She started MedGift - a website that provides support pages to those dealing with a medical crisis or illness. She beat cancer, then the cancer came back, she beat it again, it came back.

Diem lost her final battle against cancer today. She was only 32 years old.

There are two things I take away from this news story. The first is timely, as only this morning I went to get a pap smear done. No woman likes doing a pap smear. Pap smears suck. It is generally recommended that you get a pap smear every 3 years. I actually did one last year, but as part of my annual company medical I needed to do one again today. During our discussion about my personal health care management, the doctor commended me for my regular smear tests over the years. He said he speaks to his patients ad nauseum to do their pap smears and most never do. Pap smears can help doctors identify any cervical cell changes (dysplasia), treat them, thus reducing your risk for cervical cancer and the risk for abnormal cell changes (WebMD).

How many of us also do regular breast exams - whether it is self examinations or at the doctor's? While we cannot predict what happens to us most times, listening to the doctor this morning made me aware that even in the areas where we can be proactive, many women are not. This was scary to me.

Life is beautiful! Get tested! Be aware!

Secondly, the quote at the top of this post - a quote from an interview Diem did with People magazine.

Life is so beautiful.

A 32 year old woman is no longer walking this earth. She had so many dreams. She wanted to be a mother. She wanted the house, with the picket fence - all those things we dream about. She will nvere do or have those things now.

What are your dreams and are you living them, or working towards them? Are you scared of taking the next step towards that dream? It is okay to admit it because many of us are in that space or have been in that space. The tragedy is staying in that space.

Life is so beautiful.

Enjoy today and every day. The moments - simple and not so simple. The people in your life, those who love you and cherish you and vice versa. Diem Brown -

She dreamed of experiencing everyday pleasures, like apple picking in the fall, but more than anything, she said, she just wanted to live.

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The Biggest Loser 2014 - Too Big a Loser?

Bob and Jillian - Complete shock and horror??

As someone who has always struggled with weight issues, The Biggest Loser is one of those shows - out of the reality show heap - that I really love watching as it brings such positive change into the lives of the participants. Moreover, it seems to inspire so many who are struggling with the burden of weight gain to really make some healthy changes in their lives.

Some of the contestants who returned for last night's finale looked amazing. Tumi stands out most for me. She lost a ridiculous amount of weight and looked good - really good. She looked happy and more importantly, she looked healthy. Tumi was hardcore from the beginning and I am so glad she won the "At Home" prize.

Tumi - Biggest Loser - Looking amazing. Good job, girl.

But when Rachel walked on to the stage, I was shocked and perhaps a bit sad.  As you can see from the photo of Bob and Jillian - they were pretty horrified as well.I immediately thought - "She is way too thin". I am not even trying to take away her months and months of hard work, discipline, tears and resolve.She, like Tumi, worked super hard and lost a great deal of weight - 155 lbs to be exact to end at at 105 lbs, at a height of 5' 4". However, I felt she did not look healthy - she looked almost anorexic. What do you think?

Rachel Frederickson, Biggest Loser 2014 - From one extreme to the next?

And this compared to what she looked like before the season finale. Not saying this is her ideal weight but she looks worlds better at this weight than she does now. She was not even this small when she was a state championship swimmer - an athlete!!! C'mon...

Rachel Frederickson - after her Biggest Loser makeover

Rachel Frederickson last night - pretty girl but she looks so gaunt.
And she is only 24.

I was really conflicted about who should win after seeing her. On the one hand, I felt she did not represent healthy weight loss. She looked incredibly frail and even when she tripped on the way to her final weigh in, I thought she would break. I felt like this perception of weight loss should not be rewarded.

On the other hand, she worked hard - not denying this, but more worrisome, the self-image issues seem to be very real, and I wondered if not rewarding her hard work would make her somehow think she was not the biggest loser - not as small as she should have been to win.

The Biggest Loser last night sparked a lot of reactions - but I think one thing I took away from it is that the show and the whole concept may need to be tweaked a bit. It has to be more than simply losing a whole heap of weight, especially if it becomes too much weight. Perhaps the participants should be set a target weight as someone suggested on Twitter - a healthy target weight. It should not be getting so thin to the point of looking frail, just to win money!

There were a lot of mean comments on social media which are not constructive. No matter what side of the weight spectrum one is on, hurtful comments never contribute anything meaningful or positive. I just hope that Rachel gets some support as she resumes her life.

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Come Dine With Me: Reality TV at its best

While living and studying in London, one of my fave tv shows was Come Dine With Me. It was also one of the few tv shows that my cousin and I could watch together - when he was not riveted to the English Premier League. The show is a reality show that takes 4-5 strangers from a particular town or region and have them host a three-course dinner at their homes, where afterwards they would be scored on their evening. The person with the highest score at the end of the week would win 1000 quid.

As you know, I love food, I love dining out, I love cooking. So I love this show. But this is often the "dark" side of dining, the funny side - not the Instagram-ready glamour shots of haute cuisine. The reason this show is so amazing is because these people are Average Joes and Janes. They are NOT chefs by any stretch of the imagination. They are often kitchen novices and there are very often kitchen and hosting disasters. They are often bonkers, nutters, loons, a bit too eccentric to be real. The narrator of the show, Dave Lamb, surely adds to the comedy with his snarky commentary.

I think most people watching this show can catch a glimpse of themselves here. In my own quest for kitchen greatness, I have burnt dishes, had cakes fall or be like gunk, forgot to add eggs in a cake and then tried to add them when it was way too late, forgot to put the lid on the blender. Don't lie - you know you have done it too. Even the best cooks have their little slip-ups, but still, I love seeing the foodie train wrecks - the unabashed walking disasters. I keep thinking of my own friends and how a local version of this show might look and I laugh just thinking about it.

The show is great fun and when I discovered they had a US site on YouTube which would allow me to get my jones all weekend, well, that was all she wrote. I have missed this show, and with the rainstorm plaguing my neighbourhood all weekend, I almost feel like I am back in the den in London, watching my fave show after class in the afternoon. Except, this is much better. I have added an episode here, so you can grab a glass of wine and see for yourself.

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Bored

I have tried many times to post over the past few days but have had nothing to say really. My life has suddenly become quite dull - filled with work, being tired from work, sleeping, cooking and reality tv. I'm actually trying to think of a meal plan for next week. I have done burritos two weeks in a row and while they were splendid, I am not doing it for another week. And in terms of reality TV, I have limited my boredom fillers to Basketball Wives (featuring a bag of hot mess train wrecks who aren't even real basketball wives), Ice and Coco (Coco is a tanned, inflated mess, but they are a cute couple) and sometimes, Khloe and Lamar (she is my fave of the annoying trio, and I get to see the best Kardashian of all, Rob).

I'm bored really. Bored with the island. I get bored really quickly so here I am. I am (supposed to be) planning an escape for the Easter weekend but have made very little progress with that. I am so ambivalent to the world around me, it's not funny. I am not sure what this is, but it has gripped me, in a strong vice-like grip. The options for the weekend were the Big Apple and the Big Papi - or whatever the real moniker is for Miami. lol. I just need to get off my ass and do it already, or guess what? I'll be bored over Easter.

And completely random observation -shea butter oil smells so nice. I have been using it in my hair for a couple weeks now and the smell...mmm...I wanna just lie in bed and smell myself all day long.

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Project Runway: Taking Fierce to a New Level

So I just watched last night's episode of Project Runway - The Unconventional Challenge - where the designers had to make a garment with materials bought from a pet store. Talk about fierce. I always love the unconventional challenges because it really brings the creativity to life. I said earlier this week that I have no crafty skills whatsoever but I do admire those who can bring life to the most mundane things - like pet stuff.

I must say, I really hated Bert's attitude last night. He won last week and thus had immunity from elimination this week and it seemed he was content to just coast on this fact. He sucked. You sucked, Bert.

Of course, I must highlight my Trini girl, Anya first. Her design was built from leashes and dog rope toys .

Anya's doggy design
Photo credit: Project Runway/Lifetime

It looked good but when I saw the top, I thought instantly of last week's design.  I just hope we see something completely different from her. But she is safe and lives to take part in another challenge. I love that I can watch my show and hear someone who sounds just like me.

My favourite though for this week, and he almost won it last night was Anthony Ryan's bird seed dress. I thought it was spectacular and if you did not know it was made from bird seed, you would probably want it. It looked great...amazing on the runway and was well executed for sure.

Anthony Ryan's bird seed dress
Photo credit: Project Runway/Lifetime

I also liked Joshua M's aquarium stone top and snake cage netting circle skirt, though I agree with the judges that his styling was just too much. The makeup was too garish, the shoes were hideous and the little tag thing hanging off the belt was unnecessary. But his design was gorgeous. I am amazed he made that pattern with the different coloured stones.

Joshua M's aquarium stone ensemble
Photo credit: Project Runway/Lifetime

The winner though was Olivier, with his blouse made from a dog bed and the skirt made from hamster cage filling. The model's eyebrows really did not work for me though. Looked very retro Star Trek.

Olivier's Pet Couture Winner
Photo credit: Project Runway/Lifetime

Next week the designers will work in pairs. Ugh. That can either make or break your design, depending on the person you are paired with. But what is also interesting, it is a fashion show featuring models on stilts so the designs are going to have be larger than life. Interesting to see how they use fabric and creativity to create a gorgeous, larger than life look.

Love this show. And does Heidi Klum ever gain weight? My God!

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Trini Fabulousity Hits Project Runway

Trini girl, Anya Ayoung Chee
Photo credit: Project Runway/Lifetime

One of the shows I would not miss when I was back home, was Project Runway. Loved the show. It was fashion, but without being annoying (can someone say America's Next Top Model and Tyra Banks? Wow...that Tyra was really in love with herself).

So to learn recently that this season, there would be a Trini among the 20 new designers - totally fabulish.

Look out for Anya Ayoung-Chee on Season 9. Anya represented Trinidad and Tobago at the Miss Universe competition in 2008, and then really focused on her passion for fashion, making a name for herself in Trinidad and Tobago with her own line, Pilar by Anya.

I am excited to see how she will translate her very unique fashion style and love for bold prints to this season. Very excited. Best of luck to her!

 The new season starts on July 28 at 9pm, on Lifetime.

• To see more of Anya's Pilar line you can visit here
• Check out her page on the Project Runway site, with photos and video.
• Follow her progress on the official Anya Ayoung Chee - Project Runway Facebook page
• And I raved about her collabo with Meiling on the awesome Carnival Friday night look for Fay Ann Lyons here. I still love that look immensely.

And I am just totally in love with the maxi dress she is wearing in her promotional photo. Oh...stop stop!

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Come Dine with Me - The Trini Episode

Famida - Come Dine with Me Photo credit: Channel 4

Come Dine With Me is one of my fave shows here in the UK. The show follows 4-5 strangers who must host a dinner party for each other - with each dinner guest secretly scoring each other's dinner party. I sat tonight watching this old episode which amused for the usual reasons but it was especially amusing because one of the dinner guests was Trini. Usually the Caribbean train wrecks...umm...guests...are Jamaican but now I can "proudly" say, Trinidad and Tobago were represented on my favourite show.

Disclaimer: This woman does not represent all Trinidadian women. However, she sure makes for great entertainment. If you have 48 minutes to spare and want a laugh, this episode has to be one of the best ever. I highly advise you check out the snake poo scene (which starts around 11.24) and the orange halter scene (starts around 28.35).

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO. You will not regret it...or maybe you will.

The best!

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My Evening in Pictures

So since my dog entry yesterday did not go down well with some of you (imagine how I felt having to see it live and in HD) I am not going to say much today. But besides fighting off the cold, I am also fighting academia and its impact on my life.

Before...

There are more of those wonderful books on the floor

After...

I'll come to you, honey

Clearly this is a joke. But oh I wish. The real After...

Sad. And yes, I sleep next to my books every night. My books and my laptop. I roll over and they're there. My fluffy socks are usually on my feet but my toes were a bit hot. Shocker.

I am done with the books for tonight, and I am going to watch another episode of Jersey Shore now and remind myself that I am better off than most. Watching this show makes that so easy.

Mike "The Situation" and Jenni's cute doggie

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Reality TV: Funny Married People

Bill and Giuliana Rancic. Oh, the shoes, Giuliana.

I am sitting here, having an egg white omelette, fresh tomatoes and toasted rolls, with a cup of mochaccino, and watching Giuliana & Bill. I don't really watch a lot of tv these days except when I am having a meal and usually there is nothing on. So not a fan of the show but it is funny - funny in the way that as a woman I can feel sorry for poor Bill, the husband. This episode, which I imagine is an old episode, since everything here is late, is where Giuliana realises she is not legally married in the US, having had her wedding in Capri. First she goes to the instant photo mart to get a new passport photo for her new passport and this chick takes a full makeup bag, complete with eyelash curler, and a light box to have the right lighting for her photo. Her passport photo. Does anyone have a really awesome passport photo? They are usually just a step above a mug shot. It was pretty hilarious to see the photographer at this 30min photo place trying to take this generic photo as she did glamour poses, and he keeps telling her the photo has to be head on. Pretty easy, right? Nope. Poor guy.

Then, she needs to legalise her marriage in the US, which could have just been a quick trip to City Hall, a couple minutes in front of a judge and poof. Legal. Oh no...she goes complete bridezilla. The dress, the cake, the grand ballroom at the Four Seasons. Bill wants 2 people - just himself and her, she wants 500. I am still watching it and she is currently cake tasting and I am laughing my head off because I am saying to myself - This guy must really really REALLY love this woman. I love this dude. As a couple they are cute though - they balance each other out. She is a dreamer and he is a pragmatist. Pretty damn funny.

So cute. I need a change desperately.

In reality, nothing exciting. Just assignment work. Feeling pretty dismal and have not been able to shake it. I have a dinner date on Friday - a proper adult dinner - and that's the one ray of hope for the week. I need some high heeled therapy...clearly. I've also been seriously considering a pixie cut. I dunno - I need something. I have not cut my hair that short in well...ever. But it could be cute, I think. Maybe. I love Ginnifer Goodwin's pixie. Am I cute enough to pull it off? Not sure. I would probably need a job to pay for the regular maintenance of said haircut. Black hair needs extra love than other types of hair - love I am incapable of providing, hence the reason I have a dedicated hairdresser back home. Hair maintenance here in London is EXPENSIVE!!! On a student budget, that pixie cut would be a hot mess. lol. But one can dream and hope. I have not been feeling cute at all lately. I need skin products that I cannot find here, a facial, sleep - to erase the bags under my eyes.  My vanity and selfish money making ways are getting the best of me today. Sorry.

Until then, laughing at this silly show before I get back to work on this ridiculous assignment.

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The Good, the Bad and the Reality: The T.O. Show/Ochocinco

My reality tv fix last night was about football players. I don't know a damn thing about American football, nor do I care to know, but the NFL sure is getting some PR - whether they want it or not - via the reality show vehicles of two of their most flamboyant and controversial stars. Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson...sorry...Ochocinco both have joined the fray of sad celebrities looking for more fame on VH1 - which once upon a time, like MTV used to be a music channel. I am not complaining because both men are in fine and ripping form.

But black people strike again! I mean, first it was Chilli from TLC dating and finally choosing vanilla latte over mochaccino on her reality show "What Chilli Wants". Now Ochocinco and T.O have weaves across America in a bunch with their flagrant display of, and this is a new term for me, colourism, i.e. dating non-black women. Are we still on this old junk? Apparently so. I mean, to each his own. The funny thing about it is the T.Os and Ochocincos of the world aren't interested in the Maggie Mayhem from the block. Their lifestyles are fast, furious and frenzied and the women who will throw themselves at them are the same. Do you want to be a female statistic? Maybe they have a type - ditzy groupies. Are you really aspiring to be a football groupie?  Really?

Everyone is allowed to like whomever they want to like. I am black and have dated black men, white men and potpourri men and black men get all upset because you may find a white dude to be cute. So I guess I am a colourist! Well, I thought I was human and free to date whomever I wanted to date. I was not aware there was a formula for this thing. Seriously...it's old.


I think this comment sums it up for me though:

It never ceases to amaze me how when a black man has a great deal of money to his name, its in blood that he has to have a black woman on his arm. If he was T.O. the fedex man, none of you would give a damn
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In the meantime, I get to admire the fine male athletic form of both men. I don't want to date 'em. I just like looking at the form. And reality shows are in essence, simply hilarious!

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The Good, the Bad and the Reality: Jersey Shore

So I am sitting here, roasting in this unbelievable heat and watching this unbelievably stupid show Jersey Shore. The thing is as stupid as it is, I don't miss an episode. It's hilarious and I am a sucker for American reality tv. Yep. I admit it.

Anyway, this girl Sammi has to be the dumbest woman on the planet or at least part of the dumb elite. I watch this chick week after week get dumped on by her meathead, no ambition, shark head boyfriend Ronnie who clearly also has some psychological issues and a serious drinking problem. And I wonder what does this dude have that entails you being made a fool of every week? Is it that good? She is a pretty good looking girl in a stupid kinda way but wow...she has no sense when it comes to this meathead. Even Snooki, who with a nickname like Snooki one would imagine she would be a total puffhead, has more sense than this Samantha chick.

And though I should logically find the guys on this show highly offensive, their own ignorance and laissez-faire attitude to political correctness makes for amusing tv. I really really should be gravely offended by The Situation referring to a girl he does not find highly attractive as an hippopotamus, but he is so clueless about his own doggish appearance, and so self absorbed that it does not matter much. The episode where the girl's fake breast floated out of her bra and into the packed hot tub was another classic, with these silly dudes playing a game of catch with this piece of rubber that was once part of a girl's attempt at a breast. The show is like a large portion of french fries - you know it's bad for you and full of crap, but you have it anyway.

p.s. The Situation is going to be one of the "celebrities" on the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars. That should be a laugh.

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